


Fallen City

by Noizchild



Series: Wasteland 2011 [4]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Angels, Episode: s05e06 The Dark Tower, Escape, F/M, Illness, Suffering, Torture, wings torn off
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 09:32:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 9,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6149161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noizchild/pseuds/Noizchild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>First volume up. Third and final part of the "Wasteland 2011" trilogy. The devil Road kidnaps the angel Allen and breaks him into her ideal slave. However, he with a few other angels try to escape. Many questions surrender this land of ruin, but, what does the Fallen City and the tower in the middle have to do with the "wasteland?" Gritty and Road Allen pairing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Children's Lullaby

Key Zero: Children's Lullaby:

Little field mice run around in the dry grass. They eat their wheat and grain while miles away the angels suffer in the Fallen City. The lucky little field mice don't know about the hell that they live in front of. They just eat, play, and breed in peace.

But once in a while, the mice cross the line into the Fallen City.

There is no grass there. Black as far as the eye can see. The ground becomes so rocky that their little feet start to hurt. The thin air hurts the little curious mouse in the city. They have to slow down to conserve air. The scent is usually enough to drive them back. Yet, some of them don't leave right away. The slower and slower they walk, the more the little mice feel the pain in their feet. It gets to the point that they cannot move anymore.

The air is so cold and dry, that the sugar in their little bodies starts to harden. Sweat breaks all over their little bodies. Their stomachs start to turn in pain.

 _I don't want to be here anymore!_ , they think to themselves. The mice are always lucky to run away before they die. They fleet to the dry grass outside of the city. The clean air always welcomes them back. The mice enjoy their grass and morning dew from the tree that shades them from the dim sun in the scattered sky.

The angels, on the other hand, are not as lucky to escape. They cannot leave the Fallen City. Their wings have been torn off of their backs and invisible chains on their ankles keep them within the grounds. There are nine circles before any unlucky soul makes it to the tower.

The angels trapped in the tower seem to have it better than those on the outside. Yet, this is only on the outside. Sure, they are taken care of inside, but not without a price. That price depends on the master that owns them. Most of the time it turns out to be rather humiliating on the angel's part.

So who owns this tower? No one really remembers anymore. The masters in the tower don't even know who their boss is. Maybe this is why there is no regulation in the city and the tower.

But, why are the angels there? How do they end up in that Hell? Who made the tower? Did this city used to be beautiful? How did it break down into decay? How long had it been like this? Does anyone even think about the Fallen City as the years go on? Does time even move in this place? The unanswered questions are rather endless. Yet, everyone that has not been taken by the despair around them tries to find the answers around them. Some of them even try to escape in vain. However, there is one clue that they angels fail to notice. The whole fallen city has something to do with the core of the Wasteland.


	2. Allen

Key One: Allen:

It's been close to a year and a half. Allen Walker drew his eyes open. There isn't any clean air here. The staleness of the environment chokes up his lungs. The darkness made his eyes too sensitive to the light. His stomach stopped grumbling from being from long ago. The angel doesn't even know what time of day it is.

He paused when he heard the door slid open. _She's back!_ , he thought. He fixed his ears on the dull sounds across the black marble floor. A graceful grey hand reached forward and caressed his left cheek.

"Good morning, baby," her smooth, poisonous voice filled his ears. He gritted his teeth. If he could only get his wrists out of these chains and strangle her…

"Aww, why do you look at me like that?" she asked. "It looks so ugly of you." She frowned at his growling. Her mood shifted to a bitter one. That's all he does to her nowadays. Not the look on him that she wanted. He's still too strong for her personal games that she has planned for him. She has given it her all to make him suffer in his steel-wired cage. His body displayed proof of her work. His ribs showed through his pale skin covered in cuts and bruises. Dried blood clung to his skin. The sweat glanced on his slender body. Dirt painted itself all over his wings and skin. Even the electrical wires attached to his wings to prevent him from escaping didn't even faze him.

She narrowed her eyes at him. What was with this guy? After months of starvation and abuse, he still won't submit to her. Usually, most of her toys submitted under pain. What's different about him? Allen smirked at her. He's not supposed to be doing that.

"You break me!" the angel bragged. She gritted her teeth and shocked him with her cattle prod. He gasped aloud at the shock. After four more shocks, Allen hung there, panting. She stood there less satisfied than when she walked into the dungeon. This morning was another waste. Okay, time to do some serious troubleshooting.

By the time she finished her breakfast, his mistress came to an epiphany. She had heard this rumor all over the tower about to deal with unruly angels. She just had to try it out.

By that evening, she gathered up her tools that she needed to pull this off. She came back to Allen's cage and unlocked the door. He looked at her in curiosity. _What is it now?_ , he thought. His mistress smiled she took every single wire off his wings. She licked her lips she watched his wrists drop limping by his side. The low humming made him a bit nervous. She grabbed by the wrists and dragged him under the moonlit bay window. His frail body lied limp across a wooden bench. He lifted his head to look around, but she forced it back down. Her hand gently caressed his back in a mocking way.

"Shhh," she whispered. "This'll make it all better for us." He gritted his teeth to himself as he already didn't like where this was headed. She cuffed his wrists and ankles in the spread eagle position. He winced at the discomfort, but prepared not to give her the satisfaction of suffering tonight. Her hand rubbed on his back in a small, circular way before cutting to the attack.

She stretched out two thin steel wires as far as they would go. Her bony knees dug into his lower backside as she wrapped the wires around the base of his right wing. The tight pull broke his concentration. His cry of pain was like music to her ears as she pulled her wires back and forth like a saw. She licked her lips.

"There, there," she said with fake sweetness. "I'm just about finished here." Her hands still went slow with the cutting. Allen gritted his teeth as he writhed underneath her. The knees in his back held him in place.

"Almost down," she whispered. With three more twists and the wing fell right off on the cold marble floor below. Allen still screamed in pain afterwards. His body thrashed around result. She licked the flowing blood on his back. A twisted smile came onto her face.

"Mmm," she mumbled. "You taste so good." Yet, she wasn't finished yet. There was still the other wing on his back. She could that he knew what was coming next because she felt him winced underneath her. He even trembled at the thought of the wires coming at him again. She smirked at her little pet.

"Come on," she cooed as she rubbed on his back again. "We're almost done here. Everything will be better when this is all over." Allen didn't believe her. He knew what was really coming next. She wrapped the wires around the left remaining wing and got right to work with the same slow motion. This time, he didn't even try to fight her off. The pain blocked out any rational thoughts in his mind. He thrashed about in pain to get her to stop, but her knees held him down in place. His other wing fell on top of the first lost one. She licked up the second round of the flowing blood. She felt herself getting wet with excitement. But not yet; she has to go through obedience training with him first. However, right now he's in pain from their "bonding" time.

She freed him from his restraints and let him fall to the floor after she got off of his back. Allen huddled up on the floor in a small ball, trembling. She knelt down and stroked his white hair. Her lips leaned down to his ear.

"You are to call me 'Mistress Road' from now on," she whispered. Allen didn't respond. The pain blocked out any coherency in his brain. He just sank into himself to cope with the pain.


	3. Bitter

Key Two: Bitter:

Allen stared at the endless black of a ceiling. His back still ached from his wings been torn off from last night. He couldn't do anything anymore; didn't have the strength. Her caresses on his battered torso only made it worse for him. Her eyes laughed at his pain. She leaned down to his ear.

"I will take good care of you," she whispered. She leaned down and licked him on the face. He didn't even think of a way to respond. A little smile came on her face. But then, she noticed something rather unsettling about her battered toy. His skin and eyes had a yellowing tint to them. Drool slowly ran out of his mouth.

"Babe?" she whispered. She ran her hand along his bare chest. He felt so cold and clammy to her touch. Allen's breath had even gotten shallow. She lowered her ear to his chest. The mistress had a flash of worry in her eyes.

Shit! She had just torn off his wings. The mistress didn't even get to play with him the way that she wanted. I'm not going to lose him now!, she thought. The mistress picked him up and carried him to the infirmary.

The mistress pounded on the door, breathlessly.

"Tyki!" she cried. "I need your help! Come quick!" She backed up when the heavy, steel door swung open. The doctor of the infirmary blinked sleep out of his eyes.

"What is it?" he asked. She shoved Allen forward.

"Something's wrong with him!" she said, frantically. Tyki held up his hand.

"Shhh," he said. "What's wrong with him?"

"Look!" she cried. His niece held up the angel for the doctor to see. He noted the yellowness of Allen's eyes and skin. He felt the cold and clamminess of his body. A small smirk came onto his face.

"Come inside with me," he said. Road carried Allen into the infirmary with them. She laid him down on the metal bed. She kept her eyes on the doctor.

"So, what's wrong with him?" she asked. The man gave her a rich smile.

"Did you tear his wings off last night?" he asked. She nodded at him.

"Yeah," she said. Tyki smiled as he shook his head.

"You should've gotten me to do it," he said.

"But I wanted to break him myself."

"I can understand that, but take a look."

"Hm?" Road leaned over as Tyki flipped Allen over on his stomach. The doctor pointed to the wounds where the angel once had his wings.

"You didn't get the wing out here," he said as he pointed to the left side. "While it is okay for the master to rip out the angel's wings for themselves, they still need supervision to make sure it's done right."

"Oh," she said.

"Here," Tyki spoke. "Let me get that for you." He pulled out some pliers and walked over to the pet.

"Wait!" the mistress called. The doctor froze and turned to her.

"So me how to do it for next time," she said.

"Alright," he said. "Come here." Road walked over for a better look. Tyki turned to Allen's open wound.

"See? You have to get deep to the base to make sure you have it all out," he said as he put the pliers to the remaining base of the wing. With two strong-handed tugs, the bloody base was ripped clean out of Allen's back. The angel took in a heavy breath and let out a hoarse cry. That last pull took out what little strength that he had left. Tyki dropped the blood-soaked base to the ground. He checked the other wound on Allen's back for any remaining wing. Once it was clear, he turned back to Road.

"Now," he said. "He is sick like this because of infection." Road gave the doctor a blank stare.

"What?" she asked. Tyki walked over to the medicine cabinet.

"The air inside this tower is different from the city," he explained as he looked through the pills. "Angels that have lost their wings are more likely to come down with infection in here."

"So, how do you fix it?" she asked. He turned to her with a jar of grayish-blue candies.

"You put one of these in his mouth," Tyki said. "It slows down the infection for five days." He flipped Allen onto his back and pried open his mouth. He slipped a piece of candy into the angel's mouth.

"Now what? Road asked.

"Just leave him here with me until tomorrow," the doctor said. "He'll be fine by then." Road lowered her shoulders.

"Alright," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"He's in good hands," the doctor said. Road nodded and walked out the door. Tyki remembered to his work for the day.

Despite, not being able to move or talk, Allen still heard every single word. The taste of the candy in his mouth made him reel. He couldn't even swallow the damn thing. Yet, he needs to in order to keep the infection from doing more harm to his body. Allen sucked on the candy in his cheek in loathing.


	4. Filth

Key Three: Filth:

The feeling of emptiness. Nowhere to go but down. Allen sits on the ground watching his mistress with blank eyes. He still sleeps in his cage only the wires are on his arms alone and not his wings. His back still felt sore but at least the yellow tint in his skin and eyes had died down. That candy that Tyki prescribed him did some wonder despite the bitter taste. The muscles in his stomach still felt weak, however. Allen had to fight back throwing up each time the candy went in his mouth.

Road-sama wouldn't allow that however.

"If you vomit, you will be licking it up!" she warned him after she took him back to her dream world room. That alone just wanted to make him try her. But, what good would that do? He would just lose no matter what the outcome was.

The angel noticed that he had caught his mistress' eye. He waited for a response from her. Instead, she took her sweet time to study him. She tortured him, took his wings, and took him to be healed. Now, what to do next? Her own "personal" games screamed out to be acted out in this very moment, but not at this very moment. Through all of that, he still unconsciously fought to keep his purity. Made her rather annoyed thinking about that. This is why he needed a little discipline. But, how to execute this next part of the game?

The possibilities seemed endless. She had to start somewhere, however.

The mistress needed to make him so dirty that there could be no possible way he could clean himself again. Humiliation answered that so easily. That's when she noticed that he looked like that he would throw up again. The wheels in her brain began to turn. Road gave him a devilish grin.

"Aww, is little Allen hungry?" she asked. The angel looked at her with big, blank eyes as his focus locked on her. He didn't even bother to try and communicate with her. The mistress didn't wait for an answer as she moved her hand over to her plate. He watched as she picked up a piece of unidentified meat and held it out to him.

"Here," she said. "Have some." Allen looked at her with big, silent eyes. He knows this is a trap to make him vomit, but food seems so good right now. The angel sat up straight. Road held out for him to see in clear view.

"Come on," she said. "It's just one little piece of meat." A little drool ran down the corner of his mouth. Before he had time to think, Allen found his body darting towards to desired meat that his mistress held in her gray hand. Road simply just let the prize drop to the marble floor. The angel pounced and ate up the small piece on the floor. Road smirked to herself as he did so; she knew what was coming next.

The little victory gave way to heavy defeat in under seconds. Allen's hand flew to his mouth as he tried to hold back his sick. Road watched him, suppressing a laugh.

"Don't throw up, Allen!" she cooed. "You know what will happen!" Allen fought back his urge to vomit as he crouched down with pains in his stomach. Road leaned in for a better look.

"Hold it down!" she commanded. "Unless you want to lick it back up!" Allen shook his head as his cheeks puffed up. It's like… no! She was using reserve psychology on him. Road wants to see him vomit to make him eat it up like a little puppy. He resolved to deny her the satisfaction of seeing him throw up by swallowing back his sick. However, this set up an endless cycle inside his mouth. The more he swallowed back, the stronger it would come back, desperate to come out of his mouth. The clock ticking in the background didn't really help him.

Road waited in anticipation for her pet to crack. Her wish didn't have to wait any longer. Allen huddled up into a little ball.

 _I can't hold it!_ , he screamed in his mind. Road smirked with a childlike glee as the angel gave way to spewing up the morsel that she had fed him a minutes before. The sound and the image made her have to hold back a twist squeal of delight. In that very moment, she found her niche to rein him in for much more mature types of games. Allen fell back, panting after all of that embarrassing hell that she put him through. Road rose to her feet and made her way over to him. Allen didn't have time to think as she buried one hand deep into his scalp. The angel let out a tiny whimper as she leaned down to his ear.

"You know what's coming next," she whispered. Allen swallowed in discomfort. Of all of the worst things she could've picked…

He rolled out his tongue to the sick on the black marble below. Road watched in morbid delight as he got to work.

"Yes," she said. "Get it all up. I want this floor clean!" Allen felt his stomach turn as he attempted to get this over with to spare himself further embarrassment. Afterwards, he laid there on his side, trembling. He knows this is only round one of her "fun" little games that she has in store for him.


	5. Rot

Key Four: Rot:

Despite the dryness around the city, the rot lives above everything else. Not the type with garbage and meat around. Not the type that leaves insects eating the remains afterwards. Not the type that too much water or heat can do. Not the type that chemicals produce.

This is a new kind of rot.

The monsters of the city created this rot from long ago. They didn't do it all at once. The rot had to take about years to create. All of that dirt, all of that waste. It piled up into the rot that is here today. How did they do this? There are ways to create rot. The monsters' favorite way is through corruption through sins. That's how they catch these angels and tear off their wings. Once the wings are torn off, the angels become one with the rot.

There is rot in the city and rot in the tower. But, which rot with worse? The angels in the city say that their rot is worse while the angels in the tower say that they have it worse. Either way, both ends aren't great at all. Allen is starting to see the rot on him as well. The rot is on his skin, hair, and wounds. His mistress wants to add more rot to him, however. She wants to dirty him up so much that he couldn't get himself clean ever again. Ripped off wings, bitter candy and vomit in his mouth, he's well on his way there.

He and the other angels can't stop this rot from spreading. They have been broken too many times over. Those that try to resist get shot back down again. Even after, some try to keep getting back up. They are desperate to cleanse themselves of the rot that the monsters and the city kept dumping on them. That is a noble cause if they stop the rot from coming in an endless wave. The angels also have to combat the smell and taste of this rot as well. Scrubbing it off doesn't help either. Some of the rot has hardened onto them with no hope of coming off.

Allen's own rot hasn't gotten to that stage yet. His rot is just standing to form all over him. It takes a long time for it to harden to the point that he can't wash it off. He wants to escape before that happens, but his mistress has him under a tight leash. She is even inviting new ways to give him hell. The look in her eye makes him nervous now. Used to be, she wouldn't even scare him at all. But now that she took his wings, he feels smaller compared to her. She knows he can't defend himself anymore.

Because of this, the rot is starting to eat at him. Just the way that Mistress Road wants it. Yet, the pace of the rot is not satisfying for her. He's not broken enough for her to begin her more "mature" games that she wants to play with him. The wait is building up the pleasure to be gained later. This has put her in a dilemma. On the one hand, she was wants to speed up her pet's rot. But if she does that, the games won't be as enjoying as she wants them to be. For now, she could just him lying there from day to day in pain. She reaches forward to touch his warm cheek. A gleeful sensation feels her as if she was planting more rot into Allen for an extra measure. He watches her with glazed over eyes. Those icy, grey fingertips only serve as a warning of what she plans to do with him once the sun goes down.

By dusk, the rot grows on Allen as he awakes to the smell of burning and hot wax touching the wounds on his back.


	6. Leda

Key Five: Leda

Tyki has a special room for his own angel. He keeps her locked up in the basement. Lovely red hair tangled up in chains. She growls at her captivity. If she has to smell the cigarette smoke in her face one more time…

Tyki watches her with a twisted smirk on his face. He likes to reach out to her face to see her try and bite him. The man always drew back in time. Unlike almost all of the angels in the city and in the tower, she still has her wings. He knows that he could have control of her if he just ripped them off of her back. It all seems so easy. So why doesn't he do it? The answer is a rather simple one.

The doctor just wants someone to toy with. This angel is so strong and rather nice to look at her. It is possible that he just loves to break beautiful things. That's not fully the case though; Tyki does not think his angel is a beautiful woman by her looks. There has to be something else there. The doctor sits in front of her cage and took in her rage. This type of anger took years to build up. Brick by brick, it came up to this beautiful that he saw today. Tyki tapped his fingers against his cheek.

"You hate me, don't you?" he asked. His ears took in the low growl in front of him. The doctor leaned in closer to the cage. Her nose curls as she can smell the cigarettes on his coat. He wasn't smoking at his this moment, but he will be later on. She banked on that again.

"You really want to break out these chains and kill me, don't you?" he pushed. "I can see it in your eyes." He pulled out a fresh cigarette. "Oh yes, you snotty bitch! That would just make you happy, wouldn't it?" She sneered at him as he lit up his cigarette. He glanced over at his toy.

"You hate it when I do this, don't you?" he asked. Tyki took a smoke and blew it out into the cage. She tried to hold her breath as she turned her head. The doctor narrowed his at her.

"You pious little bitch," he hissed. "If you want to break out of this cage and kill, why haven't you done it already? Hm?" The only response is a hissing growl as she lounges at him only to be stopped short by the chains that hold her arms and wings upright. Tyki smirked as he shook his head.

"Carful," he said in a mocking tone to the angel. "You'll tear your pretty little wings if you do that. Then you won't be fun to toy with. And then what will you do?" She draws back, seeing nothing but fire with him. Above, he held the intercom buzz. The doctor snubbed out his cigarette as he rose to his feet. He glanced over his shoulder at her as he turned to leave.

"We'll talk later," he said. She frowns as the heavy steel door draws closed, blocking out the slightest light from the upstairs. Many days and nights she has dreamed about the day when she breaks free from her incarceration and goes upstairs to kill her vile lord. Just he wait; that time bomb keeps ticking away.


	7. Wax

****

Key Six: Wax:

Drip! Drip!

Allen slowly awoke to feeling something like hot wax touch the wounds on his back. At first, he was so out of it that he didn't grasp what was going on.

 _Hm?_ , he thought as his eyes looked behind him. His mistress stood over him, smirking. Allen blinked before he could get it.

 _Huh?_ , he thought. The third drip sank into his brain, fully waking him. The angel clenched his teeth as he sucked in a mouthful of air. Road stood over her pet with a lit candle in her hand. She licked her lips at him.

"Good morning, darling," she cooed. Allen gritted his teeth at her. His mistress kept her eyes on him.

"Still fighting, huh?" she asked. The mistress moved the candle to the other wound on his back. Drip! Drip! Drip! Drip! Allen clenched his teeth again. Road leaned in and smelled his hair. The scent of him died away months ago. The only thing that remained was sweat. Sweat mixed in with the scent of blood. She traced a finger along his bruised and bloodied back.

"Mmm," she said. "You're all sweaty." She licked up his back, trace around the dried wax drops. Her nails sank into side. Allen clenched his fists. He mumbled something at her. Road paused and looked at him.

"I'm sorry?" she asked. She leaned down to hear him better. The angel gave her a weak chuckle. He lifted his head at her.

"You think I'll break because you're doing this to me?" he asked. Road glared at him and slammed his face into the marble. A little blood leaked from his nose. He still refused to break down. Seems that pain itself was starting to wear off again. Looks like it's time to use _that_ tact. Oh yes, she hadn't shown him the "special" room in the basement of this mighty tower. Even the most rebellious of angels couldn't stand to stay in _that_ room for too long. If angels ever went back in that room a second time, it would be a permanent stay. Road's mood changed as she smirked at him. She lifted his head so that their eyes met.

"Oh, is that how you want to play it?" she asked. Allen looked at her on that question. Her tone sent a shiver to his belly like it never had in the past. Before he could say a word, she grabbed him by the head and dragged him down the hall with her.

"Ow, ow!" he muttered to himself. "What the hell?" The sound of her footsteps doubled as she power walked through the pitch black around them. She took him into the elevator and pressed the down button. The trip to the ground floor of the tower took about twenty minutes. Allen watched the numbers as they counted down to the pit of the tower.

When the doors opened, Road dragged Allen all the way out to a room full of glass displays. She shoved him to the dirty marble floor and entered in a code on the keypad near the back exit. The air was much thinner and stale compared to the upper floors. Allen closed his eyes to try and catch his breath. Little traces of pain stretched out on his back where his wings used to be.

 _It is as they said_ , he thought. _The lower down you go, the worse it is after you lose your wings._ Road watched her pet for a moment while she built up the nasty little shock that awaited him here.

"Take a look around you!" she announced. "This is where all of the bad angels go that refuse to break like they are supposed to." The angel opened his eyes fully when he heard a low hum in the room. The dim green light made him squint in pain. He paused when something caught his attention. One pale arm like a bone hung to the right side of something. Allen sat up and took notice for the first few seconds.

"What the…" he mumbled as his eyes followed the arm to its owner.


	8. Vegetable

Key Seven: Vegetable:

Fingers as skinny as bones hung so low to the ground. The hands looked just as breakable through the stretched leather-like skin. The laser lime green light didn't make it look any better. It didn't even look like it was floating in the jelly-like liquid. The hand with its equally bony arm just hung there. Allen felt his stomach turn as he figured that he wouldn't like where this could lead. Against his better judgment, he moved his eyes upwards to the owner of the hand. His discovery made his eyes grow wide.

Her eyes looked so hollow and dead. Wire held her mouth stitched shut in the jelly-like liquid. Every single bone could be seen through the skin, not just the ribcage, _all_ of her bones. Tubes went into her chest, pumping God-knows-what into her frail, motionless body. Even her dark hair looked like tawny strings floating around in the jelly substance. Allen started to back away, trembling.

 _What the hell is this?_ , he thought. He backed all the way to another glass tank. Allen didn't become aware until the coldness touched his sore back. He turned around and went pale. Another skeleton-like body floated in more jelly-like substance. Only, this one looked like a child of six years old. Allen's eyes darted all around him. More and more bodies in jelly floated before him, closing in with their lifeless eyes. Road smirked to herself.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked. Allen whipped his head towards her. He tried to form words with his mouth, but sound came out. His mistress patted him on the head.

"What is this place, you want to know?" she asked. Allen nodded at her like a needy little child. His mistress smirked.

"Well then," she said. "This is a graveyard." The angel looked at her as she shook her head.

"No…" he mouthed. Road nodded at him.

"That's right," she said. "We stuff the angels down here." Allen's lower lips trembled.

"Are they all…" he began to ask. His eyes kept coming back to those bodies in the tanks. Wings torn off just like him. The more he told his mind not to look, the more his eyes stared deep into their dead eyes. He kept seeing himself in those tanks in their eyes. If they could cry to him for help, they most certainly would. Not just him, anyone would listen. Allen could hear them crying out to him in his mind.

_Save us!_

_Take us home!_

_Get us out here!_

_Save us!_

_Save us!_

Allen sank down into a ball as he closed his eyes in an attempt to block out their cries for help. Road smiled as she took in his mental anguish from all of these bodies around him. No "living" angel could take staring at these "corpses" for so long.

"No," she said with a sweet, sickening smile. Allen paused and looked up at his mistress.

"What do you mean?" he asked with a trembling voice. Road gave him a little snicker.

"They are all still perfectly alive here," she replied. Allen's eyes grew big as he tried to form more words to ask what she meant. Road smirked as she already knew what he was going to say.

"That's right," she said. "As you already know, angels can't really die. Some of them are still willing to defy us, even in the condition that they are in. We just break them enough to become a vegetated state like they are now." She paused and caressed one of the glass tanks with her cold, grey hand.

"We just stuff them in these tanks and just leave them here," she summed up. "Such a waste, really. I don't see why we can't just put them out of their misery and be done with it."

"You can't!" he yelped. His mistress raised an eyebrow at him.

"And why is that?" she challenged him.

"They are still alive!" Allen cried. "I can feel it within me!" His mistress all but laughed at such a statement.

"Alive?" she asked. "No, no. They are just as good as dead in this place." She walked over to another tank. "Look at her. Take a good look at her!" Allen tried not to stare directly into the dark-haired angel's dead eyes. He stomach sloshed around as he tried to hold down a dry-heave. The bubbles in her gel surrounding did little to distract his attention from the tubes pumping away into her paper chest. Road pressed her hand onto the glass.

"Do you see?" she asked. "She's never going to wake up again. She and the others will remain in this state forever." Allen shook his head.

"No…" he murmured. "No, that can't be."

"Oh really?" Road asked. Then, she walked passed he to the elevator. Allen turned around in his confusion.

"Wait!" he cried. "Where are you going?" She didn't even look back at him.

"Think that they are still alive?" she asked. "Stay with them all night and then you'll see." It took a long moment for those words to sink in.

"Mistress, wait!" Allen cried as he tried to crawl over to stop her. Road wouldn't hear of it. She had already walked into the elevator and pressed the up button. The angel watched as the doors slid closed and the cab ascended into the tower, leaving him alone with all of these "bodies" in the laser green lights and jelly-like liquid.


	9. Tower

Key Eight: Tower:

There is a tower that stands dead in the middle of the whole fallen city. Nine stories reach all the way to the sky. The building stands like a prison guard over the rest of the city. All the way from its thick base to the sharp point nearly touching the sky. Its presence alone made the angels shudder.

It isn't easy to get into this mighty tower. The whole thing is made of a really strong glass. The shiny black surface makes the strongest angel freeze cold in their tracks. The thick glass itself makes it hard to tell where the doors are. Looking isn't an option, but feeling around for them doesn't help either. One touch will make one's hand draw back fast enough because it's so cold. The angels don't like to look into the glass either; the appearance of themselves throws them further down into despair. Only the monsters know where the doors are.

There is no light inside. Why would there be? The monsters have no real need for it. The angels learn how to live without it gradually. It's just dark glass at every corner on the inside. It's also so clean inside. Almost unnaturally clean. The smell of disinfectant forever fills the air. Almost to the point that everyone wants to throw up inside the tower. Funny thing is that there is blood that splatters on the floor every day at least four times, but it always gets cleaned up by the next morning.

The air quality in the tower is next to poisonous. Many assume it is due to the chemicals used to clean the whole place. That may be the case, but really, who has time to look into something like that? The air quality is not good for angels as it already is; it's worse after their wings are torn off. The science to why is not hard to figure out. The bacteria in the open wounds combined with the particles in the air cause more harm than good to the angels themselves. Because of this, they are given candy to counteract the poison. Now, what exactly is the candy? It's actually another poison that cancels out the other one. Yet, the higher up the tower goes, the worse that the air gets.

There are exactly nine levels in the tower itself. The only ways to move through each one is through the elevators. Not many go up to the very top. That place requires a certain pass code to get in. Only three of the monsters have this code. Not many can even make it to the top anyway. First off, the air gets too thin and poisonous as the angels go up. Second, the temperature drops at the same time. It begins to feel arctic. So cold, that they can see their breaths when they breathe out. The cold air even freezes up their joins so that they cannot move. In the end, they are just laid out by the time the elevator doors open up. And if that doesn't stop them, there are the spears that spring and impale them on the spot. No one will even come to them unless it is those three monsters that can access the top.

Even so, there is a secret level in the tower. This one is underground. This place is a graveyard so to speak. All of the angels in a vegetated state come down here to never be seen again. They are just stuffed into tubes and just left there to be forgotten. That is until other angels are thrown down on this level to face them as punishment. The vegetable angels are a warning to them. You don't obey your masters, you'll end up here.

Allen is down here right now. His mistress just closed him in this level under morning. Seeing the faces of the "dead" are getting to him. But, could it be also possible that he could be using this to plot his escape?


	10. Plotting

Key Nine: Plotting:

Their blank eyes made him want to vomit. They just stared into his soul without even trying. The fluids pumped into their chests made his stomach turn. Allen felt himself shrinking in this place. He couldn't chase the voices out of his head.

Help us!

We want to go home!

Save us!

Save us!

Save us!

Allen turned his back to drown them out. They won't shut up and he doesn't even know how long he's been in the basement. The faded green lights are starting to hurt his eyes. They won't go away. They won't go away.

It was then Allen's way of thinking began to change. _I shouldn't be here. I should be back at home. I have to get out of here._ He tried to get up, but his body was too frail to move. He lied back down on the ground.

 _But how do I get out of here?_ Allen tried to map out this whole tower in his head. It donned on him that he didn't know how he got in in the first place. One moment he had crashed into the city and the next he woke up in a cage. That alone wasn't enough to help him get out. He didn't really get to see much of the tower either. The only rooms that he knew of were Road's and the doctor's office. The angel closed his eyes.

This didn't help his situation any. He needed a better to think from. Suddenly, a line of thinking filled his head. How did the monsters bring angels _inside_ the tower? They would have to go outside in order to do that. Allen's eyes widened at that logic. _Of course!_ , he thought. The angel would need to sneak outside when the monsters went to go pick out the litter of their crop. But, how could he pull this off without getting caught? They would tell that he was an angel just by looking at him. If he failed, he would possibly end up like the vegetables in their glass cages.

Allen trembled as he struggled to roll over onto his pasty back. _I do not want that!_ , he thought. He paused in thought as he noticed exactly how he was breathing in that moment. The angel paused in a panic.

 _The infection!_ , he thought. Allen could tell when it was time for his candy again when his breath became short and his chest began to ache. _No…_ , he thought. _If I don't get out of here soon, I'll be really screwed._ He didn't want to fall to this point, but he really need Road to come back and get him for the candy. Allen shut his eyes in the vain wishing hope that she would show up and save him.

Suddenly, he heard the elevator doors open across the room. Allen squinted in a poor attempt to see through the painful green lights. His heart nearly froze in his chest at the sound of footsteps. He panted harder as the footsteps stopped before him.

"Aww, poor baby," a familiar voice cooed at him. "Just look at you. Just like a hopeless, wounded animal." His mind went elsewhere as grey fingers parted his mouth and slipped in that vile grayish-blue candy in his mouth. He took it into his jaw and held it there. As he let his mistress drag him away, he resumed plotting how to escape from this tower and the city altogether.

 _I will escape from here_ , Allen thought as he and Road disappeared into the elevator and began the dragging climb back to the sixth floor.


	11. Feed

Key Ten: Feed:

She spends all day in her downstairs dungeon. She's just above the graveyard basement. Tyki has her chained up like an angel on a Christmas tree. Each link came close to cutting into the feathers of her wings. Too much movement might cut it off. Now, that would piss off her master. She would become weak and she would serve no use for his entertainment. Yet, she would lose herself in the process. She couldn't have that. She wanted to have all of her in order to kill her master when she got free again.

Tyki has patients upstairs again. She trained her ears to the ceiling for a listen. He's prescribing more candy pills again. There is a rumor around the tower that at the very top is where they perform experiments on angels. Naturally, none of the angels liked the sound of that one. Like hell she would ask him if that was true or not. She would rather die than come to that point. But she couldn't hang by these chains like this.

It'll be hours before he gets back. Clawing at the ceiling won't help her either. He just stamps his foot to shut her up. She didn't know how this happened. The doctor used to be so loving towards her. The angel can't remember how he changed exactly. Maybe he was like this from the beginning. She tried to swallow back her rage again. The angel closed her eyes and tried to remember any old songs from her childhood. However, she chose not to hum it. The last thing she wanted to do was give him the satisfaction of her misery again. His little "Singing Lark" was what he called her when he heard her singing one night. Since then, she tried to keep herself silent in protest. Looking for songs in her scattered memory didn't help, so she turned to her other gift.

Even when she was human, she had the ability to hear thoughts. She couldn't remember if she was rejected as a child because of it or not. Her only gift that the monsters hadn't taken away became her only keep to sanity at times like these. Most angels in the Fallen City lose their powers upon entering. A good number lose theirs after their wings are cut off. It is assumed that she still had some of her powers because she still had her wings on her back. Her gift was another facet that intrigued her lord so much. He wanted to learn more about it on his down time. As for her, hearing those voices kept her from clawing at her own throat in an attempt to kill herself out of spite.

The fiery-haired closed her eyes and just let all of the voices in. The problem with this setting is that she only hears misery and wishes for death in this whole city. The thoughts in the tower alone would make one want to slit their wrists after the first thirty thoughts or so. The angel believed that she had become used to the negativity that visits her head every time she took a listen. Hearing that too often makes her wish that she never had the gift in the first place. It's the same things that she's been hearing for months now. More misery and despair from the mouths of the angels. She groaned to herself in her head.

 _Oh come on now!_ , she thought. _Isn't there anybody in this city that thinks about anything else for a change?_ She already knew the answer to that question; it already seem kinda of silly to hope for a different outcome once again. They were all in the Tower and Fallen City after all.

_I will escape from here!_

She paused at that thought. She hadn't heard that thought before will that still-strong sense of vigour after all of this time. Curiosity led her to find the source. A white-haired angel stood chained up in his cage, plotting his escape. Such a dangerous made her pit him, but yet she took a strong interest in him at the same time. The ginger-haired angel just had to learn more about him. So, she dove deeper into her mental web to reach out.


	12. Communication

Key Eleven: Communication:

_Why do you believe that?_

Allen froze as he heard that thought in his head. _Who was that?_

_It's only me._

_Who are you?_

_Tell me who you are first._

_How are you hearing my thoughts? Are you one of them?_

_No, I am not a monster._

_Then, show yourself!_

_Very well._

Allen's caught hold of a black and blue portal opening within his thoughts. His dulled grey saw a naked red-haired woman chained up in the darkness. The paleness of her skin almost blinded him. Yet, that wasn't the only thing that he noticed about her.

_You still have your wings?_

_Yes._

Allen's eyes gave way to puzzlement. _But why?_

_My master just wants to torment me that way._

_Oh…_

_Yes. Why do you believe that you can escape?_

_I have to! I can't stand to see those eyes anymore._

_Those eyes? You saw the bodies in the basement, didn't you?_

Allen nodded.

_How long did you stay down there?_

His lips trembled as he tried to guess the right answer. The winged-angel gave him a sympathetic smile.

_It was a long time, wasn't it?_

Allen tried to sit up to the best that he could. _And where you?_

_In the basement._

Allen gave that response a puzzled look. _That can't be… Where were you?_

_I am held in a hidden room behind the graveyard. You won't see or hear me because the walls are so thick._

_I see._

_You can't do it, you know?_

Allen paused and looked up. _And why not?_

_No one has ever escaped from here and lived._

_But I have to try. I am going to try and I will escape from here!_

_There are the monsters. They will not let you go! The worst that could happen is that you would end up as a vegetable in a tank in the basement!_

_I am aware of that! But I have to get out of here!_

_Okay, say that you_ do _manage to get out of the tower. There is still the city that you have to cross through. There is nothing but wasteland all around. You will most certainly will lose your way and your sanity from everything that you will see while trying to escape. Pretty soon, you'll just wish for death just like the rest of them!_

_And what about you?_

The winged-angel paused. _What about you?_

_Do you wish to die?_

She shook her head. _I have to stay alive. I plan to break out these chains and kill my lord for putting me through this hell for years now!_

_I feel the same way you do._

_Huh?_

_I too want to get out here and go back home._

_Do you even know how?_

Allen went silent from there. The winged-angel gave him a sympathetic smile.

_I have to admit, you are bold and insane to hold onto the hope of escape after all of this time. I will tell you how to get out of the tower under the condition that you tell me your name._

Allen sat back with a small smile on his face. _Allen Walker. And you are?_

The woman smirked at that question. _Leda._


	13. Escape

Key Twelve: Escape:

Allen played back the instructions in his head.

_Use your instincts to get out of the room in which you are being held in._

He had to wait until his mistress took him from his cage again. Road would even be gone for a couple of days to hunt for more angels to fill the city and tower. He reached out to try and unlock the door to the cage. The only thing he had was his arm in attack mode, however it wouldn't last long due to his weakness.

 _I only have one shot at this_ , he thought. _I need to make this work!_ He reached a claw into the lock and began to turn it. _Come on_ , he thought. _I don't have long. I don't want to stay in this Hell anymore! Don't revert on me yet!_

He tried to work the lock for about three minutes before it clicked open. A little smile came onto his face. _Yes!_ , he thought. Allen pushed open the cage door and crawled out. Picking the lock took what little strength he had built up before his mistress left. His brain tried to remember Leda's next set of instructions.

_Go out in the hallway to the elevators. Make sure nobody sees you. If you are caught trying to escape, they will beat you until you cough up blood._

Allen breathed for a moment before flipping himself over onto his stomach. The sudden movement made all of the muscles in his body ache. He gritted his teeth and breathed in. The pain in his lungs told him that infection was starting its spread again. He would need more candy again. The angel would've have taken the escape process slowly, but time became the enemy in this case. He took a moment to start crawling again. The angel slowed his breathing as he pushed himself to keep moving. As an extra measure, he tried not to breathe in the smell chemicals on the floor.

The distance from the cage to the door looked and felt longer than it actually was. The pain and infection did little to assist him, yet Allen refused to quit. Escape narrowed out any other thought in his brain.

 _I have to get out of here!_ , he thought. That thought was the only thing that kept him moving. He reached up and pressed his hand up against the solid, black door. His fingers seemed to slip through the thick metal; yet he couldn't fully tell if he was imagining it or if it was really real. Another wave of pain in his lungs told him not to ponder that question right now. He grabbed onto the door and tried to push it open. The best that he could do was get it to crack. His strength had been to exhausted at the moment.

Allen paused when his ears caught footsteps. Sounded like heavy work boots crossing the black marble floor. His heart sped up in his chest as little dots began to form in his vision. _I'm running out of time!_ , he thought. If the infection hits his body, he would be finished. He had to do something quick for the boots were getting closer to the door. He rolled onto his back to try and think about what to do next.

The door to Road's room was pushed open moments later. The dragon-like soldiers came in and looked around the deep purple and black curtained room. The rookie private turned to the sergeant.

"Looks good so far," he said. "Think we need to check the cage?" The older sergeant took a moment to think as he looked intently around the room. His eyes stayed on the cage for a good ten seconds. He walked over for a better look. The sergeant poked the bundled up heap with his spear. The dragon-like creature turned to his rookie.

"Come take a poke and tell me what you think," he commanded.

"Yes sir!" the rookie said with a salute. He walked over and poked the bundle with his spear.

"It looks okay, sir!" he said as he stepped back. The sergeant gave him a stern look.

"You sure about that?" he asked.

"Yes sir!" the private called. The sergeant's face didn't change.

"Good enough," he said. Then, he headed to the door. "Onto the next room for inspection!"

"Yes sir!" the private yelled. They both headed out of the room to go next door. Allen had already crept out in the hallway as they inspected the cage. He dug in his brain for the next part that Leda told.

_Go to the back elevators on the other side of the hallway. If you do happen to escape on inspection day, the elevators stay open until somebody goes in them. Press one and just ride all the way down to the ground floor._

Allen pushed his body forward as the dots in his vision became fuzzy and darker. He took in slower breaths to soothe the pain in his lungs and chest. _I'm just about there. Don't pass out. Try to stay awake! I'm almost there!_

The cool passing breeze on his skin was the only indication that he had made it to the elevator successfully. His hand limply reached up and pressed one. He managed a weak little smile on his face as he felt himself riding downwards. It took the angel to try and push himself into kneeling on one knee. The final part of instructions came into his brain.

_Once you got off on the first floor, the back door is on the far end of the hall. Just push it open and rest the you will have to find out on your own. If you do happen to escape, think of me and enjoy your freedom._

Allen nodded in his head as he tried to catch his breath in the slow-riding elevator. _Thanks Leda_ , he thought. When the doors opened, the angel looked out. His desperate mind screamed, "Look! Freedom!" But first, he needed to get up and get out of the elevator. Tricky move here. He still lacked strength in his legs and the infection could still be spreading in his body. Still, he didn't have enough time to think about all of that. Allen counted to three in his head. The angel gradually pushed himself up to his feet. His muscles felt so weak and sore. Starvation and abuse had taken their toll on his body. He stood now, time to start walking. He tried blink the dots out of his eyes before he started moving.

The air felt stale, but not in an attacking way. His lungs didn't ache as much as they did upstairs. His body did feel a bit cold. Allen shivered and forced himself to keep walking. He tried to run, but his legs were still too weak for that. The best that he could do was push his body walk really fast. Despite the pain his knees, Allen refused to quit walking.

 _I just need to make it to the door_ , he thought. _And then I will be free!_ Allen pushed past the pain in his knees to keep walking. Finally, he reached out and his fingertips touched cold metal. His heart leapt up in his chest.

 _Found it!_ , he thought. _It's here!_ The angel gathered his remaining strength to push open the heavy steel door with the metal handle.

Outside, a haze of dust blew past him. Allen shielded his eyes for a better look. His heart doubled as he came to realize that he had came out to the outside. The first part was over; he just needed to get out of the city next.


End file.
